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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24884200">nature's soft nurse</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/greywardenblue/pseuds/greywardenblue'>greywardenblue</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>October Daye Works [32]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>October Daye Series - Seanan McGuire</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alive Connor O'Dell, Bisexual Connor O'Dell, Gen, Patrick Lorden appears briefly, Post-Book 10: Once Broken Faith, The Most Awkward Conversation Ever, ever thought about how crazy the plot of the books sounds if you try to sum them up all at once?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 00:54:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,868</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24884200</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/greywardenblue/pseuds/greywardenblue</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Connor woke slowly. His body felt stiff and there was a bad taste in his mouth, like he’d slept too long and not very comfortably.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Connor O'Dell/Original Male Character(s) (pre-relationship), October "Toby" Daye &amp; Connor O'Dell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>October Daye Works [32]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2249427</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>nature's soft nurse</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>O sleep, O gentle sleep, </span>
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Nature’s soft nurse, how have I frighted thee,</span>
    
    
    
    
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down</span>
    
    
    
    
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And steep my senses in forgetfulness?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <span>William Shakespeare</span>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>
  <span>Connor woke slowly. His body felt stiff and there was a bad taste in his mouth, like he’d slept too long and not very comfortably. He groaned and tried to push himself up, then settled for just turning his head for now. Toby was sitting next to his bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” he said, a smile coming to his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toby smiled back, but there was something hesitant about it. “Hey.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something wasn’t right. He looked around the room, trying to figure out where he was, and he couldn’t recall how he got there. It looked like Saltmist, and they were trying to save the sons of the Duchess…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How are the boys?” he asked. He must have passed out when-- “And what about Rayseline? What happened to her?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dean and Peter are fine. Dean became Count of Goldengreen as a sign of goodwill between land and sea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connor nodded. He didn’t know Dean well, but from what he heard, the boy was fit for the role. “What’s going on, Toby? I can see you hesitating.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rayseline, she… she was elfshot. She’s sleeping in a room with Shadowed Hills. I doubt she’ll be woken up anytime soon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connor frowned. “What do you mean, woken up? You can’t just wake somebody up from elfshot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toby was silent, and slowly, Connor remembered Rayseline holding the crossbow at him right before he passed out. Suddenly, his body felt even heavier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Toby--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve been asleep for two years, Connor,” she said hurriedly. “Almost exactly two years. The Lordens agreed to keep you safe here in Saltmist, because it would have been awkward to have you at Shadowed Hills with Rayseline. It’s awkward enough with...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, go back. I was asleep? You mean elfshot. But then how am I awake after two years?” He finally pushed himself up and looked for his skin, relieved to find it around his wrist where it was supposed to be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We found a cure. We found a cure a couple of months ago, in fact, but of course the monarchs had to have a conclave about whether they should throw it out or not. It was a close call, but finally the High Monarchs decided to use it on those who were elfshot accidentally or unjustly. Those who were elfshot as a punishment are a more complicated matter, and Rayseline… She killed someone. I suppose… Her parents thought it was safer to let her sleep for now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connor stared. “Okay. My mind is still stuck on the fact that somebody found a cure for elfshot. And of course you were involved in it. I didn’t know you dabbled in… what is this? Chemistry? Alchemy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toby laughed. “I didn’t, but Walther does. Remember how I recruited poor guy to help with the poisonings right after I met him? Well, I’ve been using his help a lot since then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connor wanted to smile, but it turned into a grimace when he tried to move his head too fast. “I remember. You were always good at first impressions. Just ask Patrick Lorden.” It was a lot to take in, and he could feel there was more. Toby wouldn’t be so nervous otherwise. “So what happened while I was asleep?” He had a sinking feeling that he knew at least part of the answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s see…” Toby started counting on her fingers. “Well, Etienne has a changeling daughter--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, he does. Well, he did, at least. He didn’t even know about her until she started tearing holes in Faerie, but now she and her human mother both live with Etienne at Shadowed Hills. Chelsea chose Faerie, but she got to keep both her parents. Can you imagine?” Toby shook her head. “Meanwhile, Raj’s father tried to organize a coup, but it ended with him dead and most of his allies exiled. The Queen of the Mists exiled me and tried to get me killed by having me succumb to goblin fruit, but we overthrew her by revealing that she’s lying about her heritage, and now the queen is Arden Windermere, the true daughter of Gilad. She likes me somewhat more than the previous Queen did. Then I found out Simon Torquill is my step-father…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... because he is legally married to my mother. Also, they have a daughter, who’s been missing for over a century and nobody knows where she is. By the way, Simon used to work for the Daoine Sidhe Firstborn, but then he turned on her to try to save me and he got elfshot, so he is also sleeping at Shadowed Hills. That’s the awkward thing I mentioned. So then Walther, May, Quentin, Tybalt and I traveled to the Kingdom of Silences to negotiate a peace, because they declared war on us…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connor frowned. “Tybalt and you are that close now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toby paused. “... I suppose, yes. So, Arden sent me to make peace, which is a very bad idea, but it worked out in the end. And by worked out I mean we overthrew King Rhys - who was supported by the old Queen in the Mists - and woke up the old royal family who were imprisoned and elfshot by him. We used the cure that Walther had been working on for years, but he was missing one last ingredient which we could find in Silences… Wait. Did I tell you the part where Evening Winterrose is actually alive and also Eira Roshynwyr?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... No. No, you didn’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In that case, I’m telling you now. So Walther developed the cure, but then the High Monarchs, who are Quentin’s parents, decided to call a conclave and discuss whether this cure could be used or not. There were arguments made on both sides, and also three monarchs died, but in the end they settled on distributing the cure. And that brings us up to now. Did you follow all of that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connor was silent for a full minute before asking, “And you’re sure I was only asleep for two years? Not twenty?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it was definitely two.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He let out a pained laugh and reached for her hand to steady himself. He couldn’t help but notice that she seemed to tense at his touch, but it was only for a moment before she squeezed his hand back. “And…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And… What about you, Toby?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked away. “What about me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was… I was asleep for two years. All those things happened to you, and frankly, I haven’t even processed them. But you thought… that I was going to sleep for a century. You had…” Connor swallowed, letting go of her hand. “You had no reason to wait for me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not true,” Toby said. “Connor, that’s not how it was. I would have waited, if I had the time. But I couldn’t…” She stopped in the middle of the sentence and blushed in embarrassment, and Connor wondered what she just thought of, but she went on before he could ask. “I grieved you. I don’t want to go into details, but I… wasn’t in a good place. My friends were getting worried, and I couldn’t… I couldn’t carry on like that. And you weren’t going to wake up in my lifetime. So I had to move on. I had to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connor breathed out. “With who?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toby was silent, but he already felt he knew the answer. He’d known for a long time, since rescuing her from Blind Michael, or from the Queen’s iron prison. Toby had never noticed, but he did. He wished he hadn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s Tybalt, isn’t it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toby nodded. “We’re engaged.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connor laid back down on the pillow. “Huh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Connor…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you…” He felt like the shock of last ten minutes crashed down on him at once. “Can you leave the room, please?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toby hesitated for a moment, then stood up and walked out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took him a few hours to get up from the bed and stretch his muscles to be able to walk properly. He briefly wondered how someone would feel when being woken up after ten, twenty, thirty years, or a hundred. He felt like crap after two.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or maybe it wasn’t the years.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He found Toby quietly talking to Patrick Lorden, and he hesitated awkwardly in the door without entering. Patrick noticed him first and stood up immediately, a wide smile on his face. “Connor! We’re so happy you are awake again. If we can help you with anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his liege’s hand numbly, then turned to October. “How did you get here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She held up a colourful scale. “Auntie assistance. I need to deliver a message to the Ryan clan in return, so I thought maybe we could go together…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connor was not part of the Ryans, but he had many friends in their clan. He wondered what everyone else did while he was asleep under the waves. “Of course.” The words still felt hollow. He suspected October would want to stay friends - again - and maybe one day he could do that, but right now…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them left in silence, even before the water made it impossible to speak.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The group of selkies outside the house noticed them as soon as they got close enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Connor!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before he could blink, the they were crowded around him - a couple of close friends, a few others he knew, and one or two he’d never seen before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re awake!” “How are you feeling?” “Man, you have bad luck with women, don’t you? Ow!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The young man who’d Connor seen around at gatherings before was promptly smacked in the head by a friend for his last comment, so Connor elected to ignore it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine, everyone. I’m still catching up on… everything that happened.” He glanced sideways at Toby, then back at the group. There was a Roane man standing in the back looking straight at him, his eyes green like emeralds. He was shirtless and tan from the sun like most other men in the group, drops of water shining on the faint scars on his chest. “Have we met?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is Aiden,” one of Connor’s friends said. “He moved here while you were asleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connor extended a hand. “Nice to meet you, Aiden.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man stepped forward and took his hand, his eyes briefly glancing Connor up and down. “Do you know the key to happiness?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connor stared. He had known Roane before, and knew that their visions often made them say cryptic things, but that was a bit more than he could take after everything else he heard from Toby earlier. “Uhh… no, I don’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiden smiled and pulled his hand back with a wink. “I’ll tell you later.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connor’s face felt unnaturally warm, and he thought he heard someone giggle. Then his friend clapped him on the shoulder. “Come on, Connor! Have a drink with us, we’ll catch you up on everything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was swept away towards the shore, and as he turned, he could see Toby watching him for a moment before walking away.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I wrote this to establish Connor's Roane boyfriend as a character, since they may or may not be mentioned in some of my future work as a couple.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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